Consultant 101

Every member of this author team has been a consultant, and what will be said here may be shocking but is based upon actual consulting experiences. Many organizations successfully hire consultants to provide guidance on IT strategy and enterprise architecture, while others fail to do likewise. Some people are not savvy to the tricks of the consulting trade and are clueless about what to look for. Since advice from others can result in the success or failure of enterprise architecture, we provide several tips to make sure you get the right consultant.

First, make sure that what you see is what you get. In larger consulting firms, typically a partner and one or more of the best employees will make sales calls to impress their potential client. Since many enterprises are slow to make decisions, this usually results in the original stars on the sales call being unavailable at engagement time. Consider putting the names of the people you met on the first sales call into your contract, which will guarantee that they show up for the engagement.

Next, consultants usually are not around long enough to see their advice come to fruition. It is important for consultants and their firms to have some skin in the game. Many enterprise initiatives may take a number of years before problems are discovered or the architecture is working correctly. Consider inserting a clause into the contract that requires the consultants to come back at a reduced rate if the product doesn't work as advertised.

Also, though reference checks are important, most organizations conduct them incorrectly. We recommend that you check the references of the project manager and architect assigned to your company, not only the references of the consulting firm. Consulting firms have an easy time securing references, especially if they have hundreds of clients. Of course, each reference you receive will be hand picked. The liability for delivery is in the hands of the people on your project, so their references are more important.

In addition, consulting arrangements should be structured around business improvement, not around installation of systems. Many consultancies that focus on installation of packages in the CRM, ERP, and systems management space are always successful in getting installations to work and past some form of technical sign-off but rarely demonstrate any cost savings or increased flexibility. Many technology magazines frequently publish articles about how initiatives such as these actually cost more after they have been implemented. Ensuring that these consultancies are doing the right thing for your enterprise requires incentives such as tying payment to improved productivity or reduced costs.

Consultancies are infamous for marketing their methodologies to those who are unfamiliar with what a methodology is supposed to contain. Some consultancies never actually make the effort to create or adopt a methodology, but promote a methodology merely for marketing reasons. Some consultancies have internal project documentation that they share and leverage across companies but not with their customers. Wise enterprises should consider mandating that the consulting firm provide access to the Web sites and tools the consultants use. Minimally, an organization should be able to see at will all documentation related to the project at hand.

Many consulting firms have a fast-track career path for their youngest and brightest. However, be careful in employing consulting firms without age diversity. Contract with firms offering an equal distribution of people in their thirties and forties. If a firm is overloaded with those in their twenties, especially in an outsourcing model, run in the other direction. Years of experience cannot be easily substituted.

Finally, in many organizations, enterprise architecture is determined on the golf course by the CIO. Unfortunately, the CIO does not typically purchase enterprise software; business executives do. Many consultancies understand this and do everything in their power to bypass enterprise architects, and this is best accomplished while playing golf. The best way to get hold of this type of problem is to build relationships with business executives so that they will, at the very least, check with you before any payment is issued.